223 reloading - worth it?

[brett1868]

Yeah he's got everything, except 222, 6.5x55 and 303. You know the only 3 rifles i want to reload for.
These guys http://www.reloadershaven.com.au
Have a great supply of new and once fired brass, website is s**t and still under construction but Dave is a great bloke and very helpful (I'm his gardener) he had 6.5 x55 cases and at half the price of once fired site above, not that I'm bagging once fired, i plan on getting a bulk load of their 38 brass but I'm just putting another option out there.

Cool, I remember finding them before when looking for Meplat trimmers and forgot they also do brass. I'll give him a call during the week and see what the prices are like with consideration of postage. Penrith Gun show is this weekend so I might go and put a name to a face for Aus Once Fired and see what else is on offer. I have to spend lunchtime Sunday with the Russian princess at a seafood buffet so I might as well check some guns out on Saturday so we both have a good weekend .

Totally off topic...has anyone tried shooting fish? I was going across a causeway last week and spotted this huge Carp just off the edge of the concrete, I'm thinking 17HMR would have been perfect. Risk of ricochet I guess but if the fish is close to the surface then the little 17HMR will penetrate enough for an ethical kill

[juststarting]

So good segway, what's a good place to buy projectiles in bulk?

[sandgroperbill]

*waits for someone to mention dynamite*

[juststarting]

Mythbusters did a good segment on shooting into water... 17HMR would probably disintegrate on impact due to velocity. Something slower would do the job a lot better, methinks.

[juststarting]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOz1vinNXZg

[Gwion]

I'm under the impression fisheries do not approve of shooting fish. Pretty sure it's a no no in both Vic & Tas. I do know of scallywags who shoot trout with 22lr & 223. Don't have to get a direct hit because which wave gets them .

[Gwion]

*waits for someone to mention dynamite*

You mean expanding bait???

[Gwion]

That shop in Qld had Sierra bulk very cheap last I looked. Magnum Sports also worth a look, from memory.

[Herdsman]

*waits for someone to mention dynamite*

vote-for-pedro.jpg (109.95 KiB) Viewed 8287 times

[snag]

To be honest, it's probably not from a purely economic point of view - given how cheap you can buy loaded ammo from some gun shops. BUT.... there is an enormous sense of satisfaction to be gained from finding the exact right load for your rifle and replicating this over and over. It also gives you something shooting orientated to do on those lousy weekends when you can't actually shoot........

[rsj223]

20 something years ago we were shooting carp from a bridge with a .22 they were mouthing the surface like there was no oxygen one shot and they sink.

[VICHunter]

Since you're talking about heavy pills and fast twists I assume this is for a long range rig. If that's the case reloading will be valuable for the increased accuracy if nothing else.

[brett1868]

20 something years ago we were shooting carp from a bridge with a .22 they were mouthing the surface like there was no oxygen one shot and they sink.

Yep, that be the sorta fun I'm looking for. Shooting & fishing at the same time, who said men can't multitask?....that's right, my missus.

[sarki]

I'm going to take a wild guess and say she thinks you can't do a lot of things

If she's anything like my missus

[pajamatime]

I'm going to take a wild guess and say she thinks you can't do a lot of things

If she's anything like my missus

they underestimate us but thats because we want them to.
We make them think we can't do allot of things just so we can watch them do if for us. sometimes it sucks being this intelligent! am right?

[juststarting]

Where the hell do you people find these deals, damn it.

[juststarting]

Bah

[brett1868]

Nice pickup brother Bentaz, I've had good results with the Sierra pills in the 22-250. I should dodge work with you, might save me some money

[sandgroperbill]

...

I'm gobsmacked

[Oldbloke]

Bentaz, they should go well for the foxes.

[Oldbloke]

I grabbed a box of those 55g sierra's too.
I have been using Hornady 55g soft points in my 223, so I thought I would do the basic comparison. Had an old pic of a sectioned Hornady 55g and a Sellier Bellot 55g (with minor damage) so I just added the Sierra 55g 1365k is on the right. Result, they all look much the same to me. My guess is performance for all 3 will be similar

Hornady Sellier Bellot Sierra 55g.JPG (330.07 KiB) Viewed 5297 times

[Oldbloke]

Is it worth it.?
I think it is just for the gain in accuracy, consistancy, & eventually you save a few quid. Not to forget the enjoyment and pleasure af assembling a great load.

[happyhunter]

.

[Oldbloke]

The sierra is boat tail, but the others are not. I was thinking more along the lines of terminal performance on foxes. All 55g and the jackets are all about the same thickness.

[bigtone]

i reload for my 223 because its heaps cheaper and i go through so many rounds. accuracy is awesome (1/2 inch group at 100) with factory or reloaded ammo but i think the mossy has about a 23 inch barrel. I can't believe it shoots so straight considering it has just over 200 thou free jump to the lands and has done about 4000 rounds in the 6 months i have had it. The biggest reason for reloading 223 though is price. Its a fiddly little projectile and the primers are tiny and powdering the cases is totally mind numbing, so if you don't commit suicide after reloading 1000 at a time then it was worth the dollar saving!

[happyhunter]

.

[happyhunter]

The sierra is boat tail, but the others are not. I was thinking more along the lines of terminal performance on foxes. All 55g and the jackets are all about the same thickness.

If you're concern is wound ballistics the Hornady vmax or sierra SBKs are a better choice for 223 or 222. The gameking is meant to be used at higher velocities, like 22-250 or 220 swift velocities and is heavily constructed so it won't disintegrate mid flight.

Saying that, even a 22LR is terminal on foxes

That will work better for me then i think as I'd been using the hornadys or rabbits and it was absolutely destroying them, not even worth picking up for the dogs, at the slower rate of my very mild 222 load the game kings should be sweet.

What powder are you using in your 222 Rem loads? I'm about to start load development for mine using 50 vmax and the powders are AR2207 and AR2206H. I'll be using once fired PPU brass I saved from the last few nights. The rifle has a 19.5 inch barrel and 1:14 twist.

[happyhunter]

You're not kidding about mild. Sounds like a fun load to shoot. There's no data on traill boss in the ADI manual for 222 but now I know somebody is using it safely I might have a play with it. Thanks for the info

[brett1868]

i reload for my 223 because its heaps cheaper and i go through so many rounds. accuracy is awesome (1/2 inch group at 100) with factory or reloaded ammo but i think the mossy has about a 23 inch barrel. I can't believe it shoots so straight considering it has just over 200 thou free jump to the lands and has done about 4000 rounds in the 6 months i have had it. The biggest reason for reloading 223 though is price. Its a fiddly little projectile and the primers are tiny and powdering the cases is totally mind numbing, so if you don't commit suicide after reloading 1000 at a time then it was worth the dollar saving!

You my friend desperately need a Dillon XL650 progressive press
Once you get a rhythm going you can smash out around 300+ rounds per hour with the same level of precision as doing it by hand. I put 200 rounds of 44Mag through last night in under an hour not counting the time it took to unlock the powder, primers and load the press then cleanup and case gauge afterwards. I have a backlog of almost 2000 .223 cases at the moment pending the arrival of a carbide die cause I stuffed my Hornady one due to poor lubrication (I stuffed up). When I get the workshop a bit tidier I'll post some videos of the Dillon in action on .223

[ebr love]

Reloading means a bit better ammo for a bit less coin.

If you got the time/inclination it's worth it